West Ottawa uses bond sale to teach students about real-world math, careers
PARK TWP. — Nearing the final stages of its 2019 bond, West Ottawa Public Schools is using the process as an educational opportunity for high school students.
West Ottawa administration and bond partners taught AP statistics and calculus students about the bond process during a special lesson Monday, May 15. Students spent half of a school day learning about real-world math applications, career pathways and financial workings of the district.
“When we sell bonds, there’s a ton of math involved,” said Jeff Malloch, associate superintendent of business services and CFO for West Ottawa. “For kids going through a calculus or AP stats class, it’s just another way they can see math in action and application.
“It’s just a nice way to see some application-based mathematics and to engage them in what’s going on in the district. How are we funding all of these capital projects and improvements that they’re getting to utilize as students?”
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Malloch spent the morning teaching students about mills, district funding and the process of passing a bond. District partners spoke about the construction, architectural, financial and legal aspects of a bond.
“We’ll talk about market conditions, setting up the debt levy, interest rates, discount bonds, premium bonds,” Malloch said during a break in Monday’s lesson. “Our municipal advisor will talk about what structure we set for those particular bonds, how we advertise those, and line up that structure to meet the needs we advertise in the community.”
Partners present Monday included construction manager Triangle and Associates, architect and engineering firm GMB, Thrun Law Firm, PFM Municipal Advisors and Huntington National Bank.
In addition to the real-world mathematical applications, the students, many of whom were seniors, learned about different careerpaths.
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“I think it’s important to give kids an opportunity to see what career options are out there,” Malloch said. “(Our partners) have hired and employed a lot of former West Ottawa grads, and there will continue to be a lot of jobs for municipal advisors, architects, engineering, construction management companies. It’s just good, as they’re considering what to do post-high school, to see what options are out there.”
The district recently concluded the final sale from its 2019 bond. That proposal included the new athletics stadium, the new performing arts center and a new elementary school, the latter two of which are currently under construction.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa turns bond sale into education opportunity for students